It occurred to me we don't discuss casting in a focused, technical or aesthetic manner as much as a large group of flyfishermen should. Hence this new category.

I've found that the exploration of casting not just as a means of propelling the fly but as an area of study has enriched both casting and fishing. I think it would be helpful to engage in more discussion among the many talented casters on the forum roster.

Welcome, and I hope this becomes one of the active areas of our site.

striblue

05-26-2004, 03:06 PM

Great idea Juro... too much is made of other things at times and the most important aspect of flyfishing is ignored.

Moose

05-26-2004, 09:33 PM

To cast, or not to cast. That is the question.
Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of bad casting or to take arms against a sea of poor technique, and by opposing, cast well. To dump line, to get skunked, no more.
And by the Spey cast to say we end the heartache and the thousand natural shocks that flyfishing's heir to, tis a consumaton devoutly to be wished. To short line, to single hand, no more.
To Cast, to Spey! to Spey, perchance to fight Steelhead! Aye! There's the rub! For in that battle of wills what dreams may come, once we have shuffled off this mortal single hander, must give us pause....There's the respect that makes calamity of fishing short rods.
For who would bear the whips and scorn of Spey; The bait casters wrong, the short liners contumely, the pangs of not reaching the lie, the insolence of high sticking , the 27 backcast delay, and the spurn that deep wader the unnecessary makes while he himself his lie he reach with a fine long rod ? Who would casters bear to grunt and sweat under a weary single hander, but the fear of something after double hauling, That undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveller returns puzzles the will and makes us rather bear those short rod than fly to long loops we know not of.
Thus, long bellies do make cowards of us all.
And thus the native hue of 100 foot cast is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of bad casting and enterprises of great casts and steelhead their currents turn awry and lose the name of action.
Soft you cast, now.
The fair Native hen, nymph, in thine horizons be all my sins remembered.

Wm Shakespeare on the river Spey, circa 1654

Moonlight

05-27-2004, 08:55 PM

Dam Moose that was awesome.:hehe:

Moose

05-27-2004, 10:16 PM

Well, Juro said aesthetic, and how better to aethetically decribe something than through poetry. or, in this case, metaphorical prose (bastardised as I may have made it). My appologies to Mr. Shakespeare and the wonderfull Hamlet soliloquy. But it was fun:hehe:

BiG_aL

06-04-2004, 04:51 PM

I hate poetry with a passion especially shakesphere

Moose

06-04-2004, 10:09 PM

Shakespeare had a definite dislike for guys named Big Al. All they ever wanted were pop-up books.

Signed,
Very big Moose

Bob Pauli

06-04-2004, 11:10 PM

Moose-Bravo!

BiG_aL

06-05-2004, 07:37 AM

it's probably just cuz we're doing it in school right now and it is so hard to understand and we have to act it out on monday which is gonna suck and pretty much pointless.

Moose

06-05-2004, 08:17 AM

Hey big guy, all kidding aside, let me help you a little. I majored in English Literature and almost went into teaching until I realized that a classroom environment was not where I wanted to spend the rest of my life. Here's a couple things to help with Shakespeare.

First of all the language is usually the biggest barrier to overcome. Just remember that that's the way folks talked in 16th century England and it's not really that hard to understand if you just relax and listen to what the writer is trying to tell you. Read through the story once, at a normal reading pace and don't get hung up on or slowed down by the unusual wording. Just read it through and you'll get a good idea of what was said. Then, and here's the important part, read it again! You'll already have an idea of what is going on in the story and when you go over things again the dialogues will make more sense to you.

Shakespeare is important and relevant 400 years after it was written for the same reasons it was relevant then. The stories explore and clearly share insight into the most fundamental aspects of human nature. What I mean by that is, here you will find the emotions of anger, love, treachery, loyalty. You see people having to deal with struggles in life that will define the lives of themselves and others, and done in a way that can convey those emotions (not easy to do) to others. I assume by your post (school) that you're young,
so you probably like and understand the emotions conveyed in rap music. If you can apreciate that, then you can apreciate Shakespeare. Believe it or not, they accomplish the same thing!

Best of luck. If you're reading Macbeth or Hamlet you should really like it!:smokin:

North Island

06-05-2004, 12:59 PM

Boy Howdy! the quality of writing is definately comming up on the old Flytalk Forum these days:hehe: